This is about disruption and business. This is one of my favorite words & topics. It is one of my favorites for two reasons.

First is that it is an overlooked way to be successful in the marketplace. Far too often businesses simply seek to “compete.” They are satisfied with standing in the ring and bludgeon each other all the while suggesting that this is “smart fighting giving me an edge.” It is not. Shit. “Edges” <in this case> is simply staying in the fight and not a plan to win a fight. Disruption is all about wins and winning.

Second. It is one of the few words in business that if you actually deign to use in a meeting or business discussion will draw a visceral response from your audience. From a ‘fun’ perspective it is maybe even more fun than farting in the middle of a presentation.

Anyway.

Disruption, or disrupt, is an emotive word often creating a very unsettling image. And it is a topic which typically scares the shit out of most businesses <and business people>. The excuses to ‘not being so disruptive’ are too long to list … and some are quite creative. But suffice it to say … almost every excuse is grounded in fear.

Yeah.

All those “whoa … slow down on that whole disruption talk” people may suggest ‘it is expensive to do something like that’ but they are simply shaping excuses in their heads & mouths because the whole thought of disrupting anything … well … scares the shit out of them.

Now.

To be clear on definitions <and purpose> … the aim of disruption is to frame <or reframe> a business <or a brand> so that the market sees it differently. Well. I could suggest it is actually simply turning around and facing reality.

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“At some point you just have to turn around and face your life head on.”

Chris Cleave

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What I mean by that is disrupting is most typically simply attacking some conventional thinking and tapping into what people really think <when they actually think about it>. And many times it is really common sense stuff. It is common sense because it is many times rooted in the fact we just get stuck either in ‘that’s the way its done’ … or maybe we have become so numb to the fact we have bolted on crap to the brand <or company> in day to day attempts to keep it relevant that it is almost unfamiliar to what people originally thought of it <we just made it too complex or complicated>.

Please note … this whole disruption thing, while I love it, is not my idea.

Jean Marie Dru, the Chairman of TBWA has been talking about the power of “disruption” since the early 1990s. His book, Disruption: Overturning Conventions and Shaking Up the Marketplace, is a must read for anyone who likes this shit <and it is actually a delightful read for a business book>. Interestingly … even Tom Peters <the ‘in search of excellence’ guy> thought the concept of disruption was topical … even decades ago.

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“Disrupt or be disrupted. Disrupt or die.

Disruption is the most powerful idea in business today.”

Tom Peters

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I tend to believe disruption gets a bad rap because it implies wholesale change. Like as in throw out everything and start from scratch. Au contraire. Disrupting is always about leveraging off of something existing. You may turn everything upside down … but you are still using some existing pieces <some existing attitudes & behavior> from which your idea will end up tapping into. I say that to remind everyone that something from nothing equals the same thing as nothing from nothing … uhm … nothing. Smart, or intelligent, disrupting is always about something from something.

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“If in a company you change nothing, you are sure to fail. If you change everything you are sure to fail as well.

So the art of winning resides in your capacity to draw the fine line between what should be changed and what should not.

Same for a brand. All brands are in transition. You can’t build brands by thinking only in a linear way. You have to think of larger futures for them. And to do that, you have to use your imagination. A larger share of the future very seldom comes from an extrapolation of the present.

And that is what Disruption is all about. Disruption is about discovering new futures.”

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Jean Marie-Dru

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Let’s be honest here. New futures sound frickin’ awesome.

Uhm. Here’s the problem. Futures are not guaranteed, are they?

Doh.

Success is getting people to think and act differently. <doh again>

That translates into … yikes … change.

Here is the good news about this whole disruptive change topic. Effective disruptive thinking is not some blind irresponsible thinking. It takes into consideration all the levels of change it effects and addresses them.

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“Disruption demands that a company challenges conventional behaviors and finds a new way to act.

If you analyze the behavior of the category in question you will see conventional patterns of activity are apparent on four levels: corporate, marketing, communications and the customer’s point of view. Some of these conventions are invariably good and necessary, while others are not.

The opportunity lies in seeing how a brand can use its strengths to do something less conventional to change its path and accelerate growth.”

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Matt Shepherd-Smith, CEO, TBWA\London

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To be clear. There is truly a difference in disruption and intelligent disruption. Disruption in and of itself … without thought … is meaningless destruction creating chaos. Intelligent disruption leads change from what exists rather than reacting to what exists and … well … creates something new <not chaos>.

Anyway.

Here are few more thoughts by Jean-Marie Dru about brand building and the importance of disruption:

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– Disruption is creating something dynamic to replace something that has become static.

– I have always believed that a brand has to evolve. It cannot remain motionless. The same, of course, applies to companies.

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While all those words sound inspiring and thoughtful and … well … what business person WOULDN’T want to do that? Well. Disruption actually is linked to another word which business people tend to really really dislike … destruction. Destruction of the conventional … the comfortable. Conventions train us to do the conventional. And because it is conventional … we tend to not really think about this shit.

Uhm. Yes. Accepted beliefs, where everyone is thinking the same, usually means no one is really thinking. This all translates into destroying some of the accepted beliefs … uhm … which means destroying … well … familiarity.

Yet … within destruction there should be a surge of energy <from people and a business perspective because disruption is actually both strategy and action>.

What do I believe <see: “know”>?

Too much business thinking today is satisfied with maintaining the status quo.

This is doomed thinking. Thinking is at its best when used as a sharp weapon and used to transform business and the way people think <and do things>. Far too much thinking <and the tactics which arise from that thinking> look the same, say the same, and … well … do the same.

All of which simply makes it easier to be ignored.

Worse?

It doesn’t respect people’s intelligence or their sense of <thinking> adventure. Therefore disruption incorporates destructing some of ‘what is.’

Not just for the sake of destruction but rather with the intent to be singular, extraordinary, and even world-changing is inspiring and interesting and adventuresome. Disrupting is done with the intent to stand out from the crowd and get noticed in a way that fundamentally changes perceptions. I imagine I could quite simplistically suggest that great disruptive thinking challenges the prevailing ideas of the present, therefore, disruption sounds difficult, unsettling, painful and fundamentally frightening.

Why would anybody disrupt, and destroy, on purpose?

Well.

Here is the contradiction … you are actually destroying to create.

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It’s about creation – creating something dynamic to replace something that has become static.

Disruption is about systematically breaking through the barriers that shape and limit standard business approaches. It’s about challenging conventional wisdom and imagining new possibilities. It’s about destroying the assumptions and biases that get in the way of fresh and visionary ideas.

<Jean Marie-Dru>

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This actually means that the other thing where disruption gets a bad rap is that it is used as a verb … when it is actually a noun when done correctly.

Yup. Because disruption is actually a destination … a vision of what could, and should, be … against which all strategic and marketing decisions are measure. This means that disruptive ideas are simply ways to get to the vision as fast as possible.

This also means that you are taking a stand. A stand for not what is … but what will be. You are changing the rules <and frankly doing so in your favor>.

To be clear.

Disruption is not anarchy <nor chaos>. It is a strategically directed shake-up. It’s a way of thinking. It means taking nothing for granted.

It means being bold and taking some risk.

It means you are actually inventing a future in which you not only want to live … but one in which you can prosper.

Anyone in business worth even half a shit knows that the path to truly winning <and winning big> in business is to create new categories or subcategories rather than engaging in brand preference competition in established categories.

The idea of creating a new category, defining its dimensions and becoming its ‘definer’ <of which everyone else has to measure against> is where true success <financially> resides.

Sure. Many businesses need to engage in brand preference competition to retain their relevance and market position. But that is a defensive strategy. And, trust me, someone is going to go on the offensive at some point.

Anyway.

Disruption simply means ‘to challenge.’ And we all need to remember that disruption creates and is not simply to destroy. That doesn’t mean everything is all rosy if you get it right.

Technological disruption re-defines industries.

Cultural disruption always seems to piss people off.

Why?

Challenging people … and the status quo … can make people angry.

What do I say? Fuck ‘em.

Disruption by challenging the status quo improves culture. Is there conflict? You bet.

Does that conflict lead to a spark of energy? You bet. And from the spark comes improvement.

Look.

We are all disruptors. Just that some of us know it and some of us don’t.

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“We are all manufacturers – making good, making trouble or making excuses.”

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HV Adolt

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Ok. Frankly. All that really matters despite all I babbled about <typed> … is you either choose to disrupt … or be disrupted.

In addition … the outside world seems to get crazier and crazier and more chaotic which encourages the majority of us to just hunker down and get shit done. It encourages us to not only NOT think about dreaming but even worse …“why dream? I just need to figure out a way of surviving.” It just doesn’t seem pragmatic to dream <note: it never has>.

All that said.

I have two thoughts today.

The first is the increasing importance of businesses to an individual’s dreams, and dreaming, and the second is just about dreaming itself.

Ok. The first.

I believe the business world is going to start playing an incredibly important role with regard to the future of dreaming. In fact. I believe the successful business organization of the future will be a ‘dream incubator’rather than the current, more pop culture popular, ‘purpose drive’ organization. And I say that as a ‘purpose driven organization’ believer.

Let me explain.

The outside world, as I have noted earlier, doesn’t really seem conducive to dreams and dreaming.

The inside world, your job and business Life, is becoming more and more focused on the daily grind and meeting the needs of the grind. In general we are getting squeezed but dreaming, in particular, is getting suffocated.

This means there is little space in-between the outside world and inside world for dreams and dreaming. This is where I believe business steps in and maybe sharpens its elbows and creates some space for individual people to remember having dreams can be good and dreaming can actually be a good thing. Businesses can step in and remind people that there is big value in pragmatism and personal responsibility in doing a good job AS WELL AS there may be an equal value in placing a dream or two within the pragmatic ‘do what you need to do’ Life … it kind of adds some rich & royal hues to what could be a duller palette.

Now.

Let me address the practical aspect of business and how the idea of ‘dream incubator’ can fit … because a shitload of shortsighted business people are going to suggest they have no desire to have their employees “dreaming” … they want them focused on doing their jobs.

Purpose was offered as a glue to hold together, and align, functional behavior <departments & responsibilities> of an organization while providing a deeper value to instill in attitudes & behavior. It certainly offered a version of a North Star from an ethical & moral standpoint but its true objective was to take the place of ‘vision’ in a pragmatic business world seemingly devoid of anything but functional outcome driven behavior.

Good intent. Good objective.

My belief of ‘dream incubator’ is less functional driven but rather attitudinally driven. My belief is that in a world in which dreaming is not being encouraged a business which encourages you to pursue your dreams WITHIN the business itself will be rewarded <attitudinally, functionally & profitability>.

My belief is that employees, in general, are not driven by their departmental function <which is actually more the ‘keep your head down and do what you need to do’ daily grind> but rather by their dreams — $, ideas, innovations and … well … let me suggest “perfection.”

<please note: this is a simplified version of a more complex organizational idea which I have shared elsewhere, in other words, I know there are more layers to this concept>

‘perfection.’

Some people dream of operational excellence. They get frustrated with politics and missteps and the normal inefficient behavior of a normal organization. These are the ones who offer up the zany process changes which, as a manager, you look at, screw up your face and think “Jesus Christ, what a mosh pit this would be to implement.” And, yet, these are the same zany changes which the organization most likely NEEDS to do to step up from where it is currently running.

$

It would be naïve to ignore the fact some employees are financially motivated and that their dreams are tied to more material aspects. They want money and things and your objective should be to inspire them to dream for more and be the organization which can enable their dreams to come true <within the construct of whatever is construed as ‘fair play’ within that organization>.

Ideas.

Some people dream of thinking … and thinking up ideas. Imagine a business which encourages the epe who like t come up with ideas actually helps their ideas come to Life … even if they do not directly apply to the business itself.

Huh?

Here is a secret a lot of good business people know. While we love to talk about focus and ‘staying in our lane’ and the danger of less-than-strategic expansion, the truth is that a business can accommodate a shitload of different lanes if they are actually good lanes <and good ideas>. I know when I managed groups while I needed people to focus on what they needed to do … I always encouraged them think about new ideas and talk to me about their ideas – even if it didn’t have shit to do with what we actually did to earn our living. Why did I do that? I could offer a dozen reasons but suffice it to say that it offers them a valuable sounding board for whether they have a viable idea or not <which they liked & appreciated> and I would get the brain working on non-related shit <which invariably gets you thinking about your related shit differently — and I liked that & appreciated it>.

Plus. People like thinking about their dreams even if they can’t actually do them.

Innovations.

I don’t need to say anything about this. This is obvious. The best innovations are usually a reflection of smart dreaming.

Ok. The second.

I believe we need to remind ourselves on occasion that it is okay to dream … and dream big. Remind ourselves that relentlessly pursuing a dream can be inspiring … not discouraging.

Now.

Being a big dreamer doesn’t mean that you walk around with your head in the clouds. It means that you have a purpose … a big purpose that makes your life bigger and fulfills some promise within you. Of course … as usual … the key is to find a balance. Think ground and clouds.

Maybe think about it as being pragmatic with no guardrails. A contradiction? Sure. But big dreams are a contradiction. As a practical relatively pragmatic human race we would never have them … unless some of them defied the odds and actually came true.

Yeah.

Some really do happen.

Anyway.

I like the thought of business accepting the role as a business incubator and actually re-energizing the human spirit toward dreams and dreaming.

I like the thought of a business being a ‘dream incubator’ is fulfilling a role life & society seem to be abdicating.

Look.

I have always been a huge proponent that business should accept a larger role in driving societal norms & mores and, in this case, I actually believe that in doing so the business acumen & success is rewarded.

Whew.

Can you imagine how many resumes a business would get if it said “we want you to make your lives extraordinary, help you make your dreams come true, because if you do … we believe our company will be extraordinary.”

Well. I have said this before … it seems like today’s world is tough on dreamers.

It is hard to be a dreamer and it seems to be easier and easier to blindly move down a beaten path <because you’ve been beaten up by Life>. By the way. This is not suggesting anyone is a “sheep.” It simply means Life is often a grind and as you make choices with regard to making Lie easier in some ways you simply choose the path most taken.

Regardless. We need to remind ourselves on occasion that it is okay to dream … and dream big and that relentlessly pursuing a dream can be inspiring <not discouraging>.

Now. Being a big dreamer doesn’t mean that you walk around with your head in the clouds. It means that you have a purpose … a big purpose that makes your life bigger and fulfills some promise within you.

Of course … as usual … the key is to find a balance. Think ground and clouds. Feet in the clouds and head on the ground. Pragmatic with no limits. A contradiction? Sure. But big dreams are a contradiction. As a practical relatively pragmatic human race we would never have them … unless some of them defied the odds and actually came true. Some really do happen.

Which reminds me <to remind everyone> that big dreams are things … not intangibles. They are not ‘becoming rich’ or ‘being a star’ … they are achieving greatness with an idea or a thought. Anyway. And while there should be a balance … there should be some big dream in all of us for a lot of reasons:

– Sense of Self.

Big dreams have a nice habit of increasing the size of your sense of self. You have to be careful it doesn’t become bigger than yourself and consume you … but big dreams remind you that you can make a big impact in some form or fashion. Maybe not today … but a hope of sometime. Big dreams can not only create some interesting self-purpose in life but it also reminds you that anyone, even you, is capable of the extraordinary. Even if it is just in thought.

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“Be daring, be different, be impractical, be anything that will assert integrity of purpose & imaginative vision against the play-it-safers, the creatures of the commonplace, the slaves of the ordinary.“

Sir Cecil Beaton

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Maybe that is the biggest part of this ‘sense of self’ thought … it is likely the biggest reason why you wouldn’t want to settle on small dreams … does anyone really want to be a slave of the ordinary?

– Possibilities.

When you dream big things you will find new roads you may want to explore along the way. It is an adventure and sometimes extremely unpredictable and never ordinary. This is because big dreams can push limits of possibility <or what is possible> because it keeps the impossible in life in sight <if you can actually see something like impossible>. It all happens because big dreams are … well … not quantifiable. If they can be <in your head> I would suggest it is not really a dream but an objective or goal. A dream has to be so big it is just an idea … something difficult to put a number on it or a specific GPS coordinate. it is always somewhere on the horizon. And in reaching toward it the possibilities of new roads not taken <and never envisioned nor on any map as a matter of fact> increase significantly.

– Achieving stuff.

Yeah. You may not actually get the big one <the big dream> but typically if you dream big, you increase the odds you actually achieve something. It also increases the odds you actually achieve something relatively great in the scheme of things. In fact. You may even end up achieving more than you ever thought you could <even if it isn’t the big dream you began with>.

Big dreams are the reasons why the world changes … and becomes better. And I say ‘world’ as in if you define it in business … or in life. It’s the reason why there have been so many inventions, new ‘out of the box’ ideas, creations or whatevers. As a business guy I love this following quote for the business big dreamers:

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“New business concepts are always, always the product of lucky foresight. That’s right – the essential insight doesn’t come out of any dirigiste planning process; it comes form some cocktail of happenstance, desire, curiosity, ambition and need. But at the end of the day, there has to be a degree of foresight — a sense of where new riches lie. So radical innovation is always one part fortuity and one part clearheaded vision.”

Gary Hamel, Leading the Revolution

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New concepts inevitably come from one part clearheaded big dreaming.

Same with new ideas. Same with anything really new … and really big. Oh. And along the way a lot of good little stuff happens too.

– Your legacy <and big dreams>

Big dreams give you the opportunity to truly leave your mark on the world in several ways:

You achieve it.

You don’t achieve it <but achieve other shit along the way>.

You don’t achieve it <and it is left for someone else to achieve>.

The first.

The achieving one is obvious. It is satisfying and certainly something at the end of the road you will probably look back on with some satisfaction. I will mention though that most big dreamers update their dreams if they actually attain the original. You never really actually stop dreaming big <but do not tell anyone that>.

The second.

You don’t achieve it but along the road you have veered off on a variety of paths you encountered and did some good shit along the way. Your legacy is strewn with stuff you have left behind. I call this a ‘no regret’ life. You don’t really regret the missed ‘big dream’ cause you lived life doing stuff.

The third.

Oh. And not achieving the big dream … whew … what does happen to big dreams when a dreamer dies?

Here is the good news. A big dream never really dies. Only dreamers do. Someone else grabs it as their own. I think most big dreamers recognize his and are okay with it. Big dreams aren’t really meant to be owned by anyone in particular except Life. They can be achieved by someone <if they are lucky enough to figure out how to do it> but big dreams are visionary.

Some big dreams cannot be fulfilled within a single lifetime. But they are so inspiring that future generations <or someone in that generation> will strive to achieve it.

For the latter, well, just see the gobs of information and quotes online with regard to “if you aren’t moving forward you are standing still” … “don’t look back or you’ll miss what is in front of you” … “don’t look back you are not going that way” or some crap like that.

I would note we see all that … as if no one knows that movement, and progress, is good. But. that is the ‘forward progress theory’ business.

That said.

The bravest thing you can do is to not look back. Why do I say ‘brave’? We make it really hard to not look back. Really hard. Day in and day out everything around you pounds on you for what did you learn and how are you applying it and ‘if you don’t know that then how can you be sure that is the right thing to do?” … crap like that.

Okay.

Semi useful thinking crap like that.

But what it really means is that anyone truly desiring to move forward, intent on progress, keeps getting dragged back time and again to the past.

What, or who, is the main culprit of this almost unhealthy relationship with the past?

“Those who do not learn from the past are doomed to make the same mistakes.”

Christalmighty.“Doomed.”

No wonder people afraid of some risk or hesitate to move forward keep looking backwards. Doom is never a particularly desirable objective if you care about your career <or anything for that matter>.

The ‘doomed’ aspect <which older business people toss around like confetti in meetings> means we are almost demanded to not only invest energy in the past but, in some cases, encouraged to hold on to past learnings with ragged claws. That said … I will go back to the bravery aspect because I could argue the truest bravery, in this sense, resides in two places:

Not looking back once you have decided to move forward.

Not looking back when you purposefully stand still.

Yeah.

First. There are actually times to just go. Go and do. Maybe not ‘go’ as meant by leaning on instincts <I called it ‘decision faking by intuition‘ but research tends to show instincts are less important than experience> but lean on your experience to guide you through the context of your progress. The truth is that the past cannot show you all the shit you need to know as you move forward. It only shows aspects of shit you should be aware of. And, worse, the past has nasty habit of not encouraging you to reflect on the context of all the aspects just the aspects themselves. Therefore history is truly only important in parts and not the whole.

You have to grab the scraps of what you need from the past and create a new whole in moving forward. And that is where bravery steps up to the plate. More often than not you are creating a new whole … a slightly different version of what was. Yeah. That is different than the past <it s actually something new>. Yeah. Everyone is actually a creator, a discoverer … albeit we don’t like to think about that. While this point is a generalization … if you know your shit … once you have decided to go … to move forward … don’t look back. Bravely face the new world ahead.

Yeah.

Second. There are actually times to stop. Stand still. Even amidst activity. Even amidst a crowd which seems like it is moving forward <albeit sometimes all you see is the movement>.

Stillness, strategic stillness, is possibly one of the scariest things anyone can ever do. When everyone and everything is moving you feel like you are ding something wrong in standing still. And, yet, by purposefully doing so you may be adding to the progress rather than taking away from it.

Here is what I know about purposefully standing still.

You have to accept the fact you are offering the type of energy that no matter where you are and no matter that you are still & not moving you are actually adding value to the space and time and progress to that which is around you. I can promise you that this takes a version of bravery.

Anyway.

Forward progress is difficult. Difficult in the mind <attitudes> and even in practice <behavior>. I could argue that it is so difficult because our natural instinct is to try and use the past to define what the future will look like. That is slightly crazy when you think about it. While the arc of time dictates the future will most likely replicate the past … well … that is the arc and not the details. It’s kind of like discussing strategy versus tactics. The strategy may remain the same or similar, but the tactics will vary in the context of time & situation.

Forward progress does take some bravery … some courage. Mostly because the future will always contain something you have never seen before or faced before. In other words … it will not be the same as it was.

I don’t think I am particularly brave but I certainly don’t look back once I decide to go … and I have no qualms with standing still amidst movement. I tend to believe it is not bravery but rather experience.

Ah.

Experience.

Maybe you need to be brave to gain useful experience?

Ok.

That’s another post for another day ……..

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“Sometimes people let the same problem make them miserable for years when they could just say, ‘So what’.

“A dream will always triumph over reality, once it is given the chance.”

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Stanislaw Lem

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Well.

Suffice it to say Hope is a pretty resilient motherfucker. And I am glad it is.

Sometimes life beats the crap out of you. And I mean REALLY beats the shit out of you.

It beats you up enough that sometimes it makes reality take on some insurmountable size and shape … all but blocking out any sight of dreams.

And in doing so … by blocking sight to dreams the only thing a person can fall back on is Hope.

And that’s what bravery is all about.

In spite of everything.

In spite of all that happens, which by almost any measure would make you decide that hope & dreams are a waste of time, you maintain some hope.

In spite of all the shit that makes you begin thinking that time is better spent dealing with reality, you maintain hope.

I say this because, in the end, I tend to believe it is some version of bravery that keeps your head focused on maintaining hope. Because you have to be brave in some form or fashion to maintain some faith in something that can be difficult to see <especially if reality is standing in the way>.

You have to be brave to maintain some dreams you have.

You have to be brave to maintain some thought that there is something beyond the reality of the moment.

Unfortunately.

Reality is the inevitable. The inevitable of Life <which actually represents, unfortunately, ‘things beyond your control’>. What I mean is that some things are inevitable in your Life once someone else decides to pursue something in their Life … especially if their decision invokes some relentlessness. And … in that ‘inevitable space’ … sometimes there are often truly no good solutions to the situations <not just problems … just regular everyday situations> that arise.

There are only bad and less bad solutions.And within that quandary it becomes even easier to lose hope.

Because that quandary most often is involving what is seemingly mundane everyday stuff … not the really big stuff. And when that happens you begin thinking … “shit … if I cannot even navigate the little stuff how the hell will I steer myself toward the big stuff <my dreams & things I hope for>.”

And you feel … well … fucked.

Fucked because Hope only provides an unclear future. There are no specifics and no clear destinations. And sometimes hope get additionally blurred by your desire to be able to see into the future.

But here is the deal.

Being able to see the future doesn’t make you any smarter or wiser than anyone else. And it certainly doesn’t stop you from making mistakes. All it does is to let you know what a problem is and how big the problem is … but it doesn’t give you any way to do anything about it.

Seeing the future just enables you to … well … see it … but you cannot do anything but deal with it <not change it per se>. And in dealing with it … therein lies the bravery.

Dealing with the daily battle to keep your Hope.

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“I carry the battle in me.”

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A Six Word Story

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Each day, whether you pay attention to it or not, you carry the battle between hope and reality. The battle is defined by bravery. That is the only way you win the battle.

I imagine the opposite is cowardice. And the thought that it is the cowards <or the ‘unbrave’> who give in to reality and let hope die <or lose>. Frankly … I don’t like that. Nor do I really believe it. I don’t think its cowardly.

I just think it’s … well … very easy to let the reality of Life grind you down. You can be the bravest sonuvabitch and still find your hopes & dreams being crushed.

But.

I will say this.

You must be brave in the face of reality if you want your dreams and hope to even have a chance. And if you believe such a thing as bravery is too daunting?

Well.

Remember this.

If you give hope a chance, even a glimmer of a chance, it will win the battle against reality.

Generally said if the affected person should free himself from materialism or minor important things, thus set his mind over those and hence care about more crucial things, not seldom his own well-being for his plans on particular upcoming events might seriously damage his health, his reputation or the like, thus could cause him more harm than intended before – therefore mind over matter settles the issue in advance by barring the person from dealing with the issue(s) himself.

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Mind Over Matter Urban Dictionary

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Well.

Mind over matter may be one of the most important trite quips in human history.

I will point out that despite its overuse and triteness, the entire concept of ‘getting your head straight’ or ‘getting your head in the game’ is maybe the most important Life & professional advise you will ever get. At its most base level mind over matter has nothing to do with positive thinking nor does it have to do with ‘doing what you are destined to do’ and has everything to do with simply making sure you are mentally prepared for whatever you are going to do or face.

I have written probably a hundred posts about mind over matter without ever directly addressing mind over matter.

Pretty much everything I write about centers on attitude and understanding how to get your mind right so you can get ahead and go do the rights things <as in the things you want to do>.

Mind over matter … well … matters because what you can actually do is often exponentially larger than what your mind thinks you can do. In other words … you need to convince your mind to see your potential. By the way, this does not mean you can do the impossible … it simply means that your head very often underestimates, practically speaking, how much you can matter in actual ‘doing shit’. In other words … you often can do more than your head may see you can do.

Now. That said.

This brings up my only real issue with mind over matter. The positive psychology crap people seem to want to prescribe & apply to mind over matter. The positive psychology implies if you believe something it will happen. Or if you think positive things that good things will happen.

That’s bullshit.

The mind just gets you in the game. You gotta work hard to win the game.

This means that mind over matter is more often than not about happiness or positivity … it is more about recognizing real obstacles & challenges and mentally preparing yourself to deal with it all. Uhm. Recognizing … not actually accept all of it.

Just accept that “it” is there and will be a burden you will carry as you pursue your objective or step out on whatever path you elect to walk toward your vision. And, yes, it is a burden and, yes, you shouldn’t seek to lighten it but rather accept it. In other words … you will quickly discover you need to accept a sense of being uncomfortable. That is the key to the mind part of the mind over matter.

Mind over matter is about getting your head in the right place for the journey. It is not about believing you can do something impossible. In the end this means you recognize the journey is the challenge and the destination is the reward.

Anyway.

Sometimes we think of our bodies and minds as two distinct entities. And in some ways they are. But in order to maximize your potential and fulfill your purpose <which is more often than not inspired by the mind> you need to enable a more intertwined you – align the body & the mind. Researchers have certainly found evidence that the brain has a distinct power to manipulate the body’s physiology. This means if you get everything aligned in the ‘mind over matter’ that the mind/body connection can work in your favor … or against you … depending on your attitude and your ability to manage your mind.

Suffice it to say that believing in yourself is all about self-esteem and affects self-actualization <Maslow stuff>.

And mind over matter is believing you are prepared to face whatever believing in yourself throws at you.

Simplistically … you either believe you can do something or you don’t.

I believe it was Plato who wrote that the body can only move when pushed by others or when it is propelled forward by a soul or principle of life within it. This suggests an intertwining between mind, brain, body and soul. That, to me, is the formula of mind over matter in which it is the mind <attitudes> that drives the body <behavior> through the brain <intellect> … and the soul, the passion behind your purpose, is the engine.

It our minds that tie our behavior to the desires, aspirations, aims, ambitions and goals we may have.

I will note that preeminent philosophers have danced on this head of a pin over mind versus matter for centuries.

I, being an everyday schumck, would simply suggest that all that matters is you get your mind in a good place, get your head on straight and work hard. You may not get exactly what you want and get where you want but what will matter is you made the attempt and did your best.

And, frankly, pragmatically & honestly, some of us find out that sometimes your best isn’t good enough. Sometimes the world or the path Life places in front of you is more than what you have.

But … well … you know what? That’s okay. Life gives you hundreds of paths to walk.

Mind over matter opens you up to not only the first path you choose but offers you the resilience to walk another path should you stumble upon the one you first chose. And then another after that if needed.

Knowledge of Botany: Variable. Well up in belladonna, opium, and poisons generally. Knows nothing of practical gardening.

Knowledge of Geology: Practical but limited. Tells at a glance different soils from each other. After walks has shown me splashes upon his trousers, and told me by their colour and consistence in what part of London he had received them.

Knowledge of Chemistry: Profound.

Knowledge of Anatomy: Accurate but unsystematic.

Knowledge of Sensational Literature: Immense. He appears to know every detail of every horror perpetrated in the century.

Plays the violin well.

Is an expert singlestick player, boxer, and swordsman.

Has a good practical knowledge of British law.”

―

Arthur Conan Doyle <A Study in Scarlet>

==================

So.

I am not sure if it is that I am of an age where my experiences have become varied enough that I chafe on being slotted in some form of ‘what you do’ or if I am of an age where many of the people I know get frustrated that they are demanded to define themselves, careerwise, in some simplistic way.

All that said.

I found myself in an odd alternative universe writing a core “here is why I have created this site and initiative” for someone I respect … and it was written for him but easily expressed my own situation.

After I sent him what I had scribbled I went back and I replaced his field with mine and … well … I found I was writing about my frustrations were which his … as well as a number of people I know:

====================

This site is borne of my frustration with explaining I am more than an advertising guy.

This site is borne of a belief that there is a community of advertising guys/gals who not only know they are more than advertising people but they also know they would like to use the skills they have in a business world which they see as needing what they have to offer.

This site is borne of what I know to be true – many of us are not simply advertising people, we are tinkers, tailors, soldiers & spies … all in one.

For some of us it gets frustrating to explain just because I have my MBA and am an experienced advertising guy that I am more than just that.

I get frustrated when my degree defines me.

I get frustrated when my industry experience label defines what my skills are.

I get frustrated that what I do, or have tangibly done, defines what I am capable of.

I get frustrated because I know how to ask the hard questions which often offer the hardest answers – the right things to do <which I believe businesses are desperate for this skill>.

I get frustrated because I know that “the truth is” is rarely the truth and I know that truths are often misty and multiple, like ghosts.

I get frustrated because I know all that I just wrote is a reflection of a thinking skill, a problem solving skill, a business skill and not just an advertising skill.

I get frustrated because I am more than an advertising guy and I know many people are frustrated by being slotted so simplistically.

To me, the world is too quick to define people and their skills in a simplistic way — simplistically by what they do <on the surface> and what specific skills they have acquired. People are often more complex than the labels they carry along with them and skills are often more translatable, with surprisingly positive outcomes, than many people are willing to think about.

It is our own fault because we have bludgeoned it into everyone’s head that everyone has to be a specialist or have some specific skill and, therefore, if you cannot simply define your specialty or skill you are … well … of less worth than someone who can.

That is, frankly, silly if not ludicrous.

Here is what I know.

I am more than an advertising guy. I am a tinker, tailor soldier and spy.

And I am building a community of likeminded people with a desire to go beyond simply being defined by the degree they earned and what labels people put on them to reach out into a business world, which may not know they need our skills at the moment, and show them there is a group of overlooked people who have skills to offer which businesses can benefit from.

============

tin·ker

ˈtiNGkər/

noun: tinker; plural noun: tinkers

1.

(especially in former times) a person who travels from place to place mending metal utensils as a way of making a living.

a person who makes minor mechanical repairs, especially on a variety of appliances and apparatuses, usually for a living.

2.

an act of attempting to repair something.

tai·lor

ˈtālər/

noun: tailor; plural noun: tailors

1.

a person whose occupation is making fitted clothes such as suits, pants, and jackets to fit individual customers.

Soldier

Noun

A soldier is one who fights as part of an organised, land based, sea based and air based armed force.

spy

spī/

noun: spy; plural noun: spies

1.

a person who secretly collects and reports information on the activities, movements, and plans of an enemy or competitor.

=============

Sigh.

I am fairly sure I am not in the majority in that the bulk of the world tends to acquire specific skills but I do believe the majority of generalists get unfairly squeezed into some incredibly uncomfortable boxes simply because the world just doesn’t seem to believe a generalist has the same value as a specialist.

It is frustrating.

To be clear … a qualified generalist doesn’t claim to be able to do everything.

I am not qualified to be a CFO <although I understand what CFOs do and what they say>.

I am not qualified to be some social media strategist <although I understand what they do and what they say>.

I am not qualified to … well … you get the point.

But from a generalist perspective I am qualified to talk about effective marketing, advertising and communications in any industry <even if I have never worked specifically in that industry>.

But from a generalist perspective I am qualified to talk about effective company vision, objectives, strategies and how to grow sales & retention in any industry <even if I have never worked specifically in that industry>.

But from a generalist perspective I am qualified to talk about positioning products & services, behavioral economics, the emotional & functional reasons people do things as well as using those things in making the hard business decisions which guide businesses toward success in any industry <even if I have never worked specifically in that industry>.

But from a generalist perspective I am qualified to dabble in almost any topic in any industry on any issue and use that ‘dabbling’ to make some relevant points based on some seemingly disparate type knowledge.

===============

“You know about fixing cars, you’re athletic, and you know when to shut up.”

I usually open with a quote but because today is JRR Tolkien’s birthday this entire piece is dedicated to Tolkien quotes <with Bruce thoughts>.

I have been a JRR Tolkien and Lord of the Rings/Hobbit fan since grade school when one ambitious teacher read us The Hobbit during reading time <in whatever grade someone has reading time>. I was fascinated by the battles and the drama and the cast of characters. My imagination went wild with the possibilities and I would guess The Hobbit was the first “adult” book I picked up and read on my own when I was old enough.

Looking back … I guess I have always found joy in the metaphorical aspect of all the Tolkien books <and loved drawing the correlations>. But it was The Hobbit that originally tweaked that understanding and began my love of words and framing of words. It was this book that opened the door in my mind where I understood books were not just words but thoughts.

And I could probably blame Tolkien for my sense of imagination and some of the ways I view things in Life & business.

Anyway.

What I really value is that he made me realize good authors/writers didn’t just write things down in some willy nilly fashion. He made me realize authors wrote with a thought <not just some story>. And that it was a mistake to take the words at face value but rather it was worth taking some time to understand the meaning behind the words … the messages and the lessons to be learned.

In the beginning, my impressionable youth, it probably took me a number of years to begin breaking down the metaphors into distinct conceptual quotes and truly understanding the genius of Tolkien <and, I imagine, I am still a work in progress>.

Ok. Enough of that.

As with any well written fantasy book the Lord of the Rings is strewn with a number of great quotes and soundbite thoughts. Really thoughtful thoughts. Not “elvin” thoughts or thoughts using some wacky made up language or simply unrealistic fantasy-like thoughts … but thoughts about Life.

Here you go:

===============

“Many that live deserve death. And some that die deserve life. Can you give it to them? Then do not be too eager to deal out death in judgment. For even the very wise cannot see all ends.”

–

Gandalf

=========

This thought is huge.

And not all people may buy it mostly because it is always difficult to believe that good people shouldn’t have the opportunity to fulfill their potential “good” destiny. And it becomes even more difficult when you observe obviously ‘not good’ people living a long life dispensing ‘not good things’ as freely as loose cards from a dozen decks of cards. But. It is too simplistic to suggest the bad deserve to die and the good deserve to live. Because, frankly, life isn’t all good nor is it all bad.

Anyway.

I guess the bigger thought here is that we judge people ‘as is’ <or as they are>and estimate ‘what will be <or what could be> and .. well … judge.

You can’t.

Sorry.

But you can’t.

Even the best of hearts can be cracked by life. Even the worst of souls can find redemption.

Regardless.

Gandalf reminds us we shouldn’t be too eager to use death in judgment for bad .. or good. Why? Because, whether we like it or not … “not good” people serve a role in life. One big role is that it is in the conflict between good people and bad people therein lies the growth of “what should be.”

Think about it.

In those who live, that deserve death, we see vivid demonstrations to remind us of “what shouldn’t be.” And in those who die, who seemingly deserved life because of goodness, it is a harsh reminder that those of us remaining have a responsibility to uphold that “which should be.”

Here is what I know. No matter how wise I may become … I cannot see all ends.

And I certainly cannot judge who deserves death and who doesn’t (no matter how much I would like to).

And I think it is either silly, or selfish, to dwell on ‘what could have been’ even with who may be seemingly the best of the best.

In the end?

Try not to judge people. And judge your own life by what you are doing … because you cannot see the end. The end arrives … well … when it wants to arrive not when we choose.

===================

“It is not your own Shire. Others dwelt here before hobbits were, and others will dwell here again when hobbits are no more. The wide world is not all about you: you can fence yourselves in, but you cannot for ever fence it out.”

–

Gildor Inglorion

=====================

The big thought: “The world is not all about you.”

Wow.

If the Shire were America, and Gildor shared this thought, could you see the ole twittersphere lighting up like a roman candle?

Ignorance is a fence. And isolationism is living within that fence. That is fencing yourself from the unknown.

I won’t suggest it’s out of fear or any number of actually good reasons … but rather just say isolating yourself <personally or as a country) is never good.

Anyway.

I think the bigger thought here is that we need to always remind ourselves that we today represent a past .. and that we are probably a blip in history <or what will be>.

I guess the reason why this quote resonates with me today is that Americans are REALLY focused on what is seemingly “our problems” and what is happening now.

And I guess they should be but this quote is a reminder that all in which we live in should have some perspective. What happens in our community is important … but it is simply one cog in the bigger global wheel.

Bottom line?

Yeah. What you & your community is facing is important. And needs to be dealt with. But burying your head in your own community means losing sight of the forest. And the issues that reside in the forest. And, frankly, the things the forest can bring to bear against your own little tree in the woods.

The cycle of time brings an end to everything … only to bring a beginning to another. You may as well step beyond your own shire at some point. And that’s not about being adventurous … that is simply about living life.

===================

“Don’t adventures ever have an end? I suppose not. Someone else always has to carry on the story.”

–

Bilbo

====================

Adventures are fun to write about. Especially when you talk about beginning or end.

Because … well … in my eyes … true adventures never do end. I could have included another thought … “in each end there is a beginning, and each beginning there is an end.”

A truth.

Life is an adventure. Or a series of adventures <that is if you elect to look at it this way>. Peoples’ lives end but life doesn’t. Someone is always there to carry on.

Think about it.

Someone is always an extension of the past. No one is totally new.

Your own adventure is simply something you have found a passion for that exists and you are carrying it on from someone else … for someone else to pick up again one day and carry it on.

We are all just a chapter in a bigger story.

Never lose sight of that fact.

======================

“all that is gold does not glitter,

Not all those who wander are lost;

The old that is strong does not wither,

Deep roots are not reached by the frost.”

–

ancient verses of Elvish prophecy

===============

This is one of my favorite quotes of all time. And it is probably my most used. While many use the first couplet I like the entire stanza.

Part A. “not all those who wander are lost.”

Maybe because it seems a reflection of me … maybe it’s because I think it is a reflection of a lot of people … but I use this time and time again when teaching some high school classes and talk with students about their future and making plans and knowing what the hell they are going to do with their lives.

I have written about this thought ad nausea but the truth is that not everyone knows their “destination.”

Particularly in youth.

It takes time to figure out not only what you are good at but what makes you happy <which may not be the same thing> as well as what feeds your life vitality <the shit that makes waking up every morning fun>.

People wander. Ok. Not all do … but those who do tend to be some pretty interesting people (not necessarily the most successful … but interesting).

I often use a clip from the old tv show Felicity to make this point called “ben’s big mom speech” … and yes … I actually use a clip from Felicity to make a point.

Ben:

“I’d like to think that people take a good look at me before they make up their minds… He’s this guy, he doesn’t know what he wants to be yet, and he doesn’t have a major yet, he’s got his dad as this dark character … has a drinking problem.

I’m not really selling myself here, am I? … Look I understand why you guys needed to see Felicity with someone like Noel… I mean, he’s obviously gonna make it. And probably long before, I mean, I figure out what I ‘m gonna be in my life. But I always remember this one thing my teacher said, which was, all these people she knew they had no idea what they were gonna do with their lives when they were twenty. So, chances are, I’m gonna turn out to be a pretty interesting guy.

———————————–

It’s a great clip.

And says what many of us at that age felt … even though we were still wandering. What do I mean? Well. The wanderer usually feels like there is something wrong with themselves (and adults are typically fairly quick to suggest just that). I imagine the danger is in defending yourself you stop seeking a destination and revel in the seeming rebellion of wandering.

Regardless.

Wandering doesn’t mean you are lost. You may simply be discovering. And all that discovery is needed to make whatever gold you have in you shine. Time just needs to buff away the dullness a little.

Part B … “deep roots are not reached by frost.”

Well.

As I have grown older I have grown a larger appreciation for this part. The first couplet is brilliantly crafted but inevitably I believe the genius of Tolkien was putting the two couplets together.

For the deep roots are found in your soul. This is that life vitality stuff I talk about a lot.

Deep roots is the shit you care about. Your passion. Your soul. The kind of stuff that no matter how much someone may challenge or try to make sound silly … well … they are your deep roots.

Here is the tricky part.

I think deep roots takes time. And I don’t mean cultural roots or family roots … I mean personal roots.

Unfortunately <as I tell young people> you don’t get deep <healthy> roots until you are older. A young person may have an old soul … but only life experience creates deep roots.

But.

It’s worth the wait. Because even in the coldest and darkest of time … deep roots can never be touched by frost. Which means they will grow again.

Ok.

My last Tolkien saying in part 2 … it seemed appropriate to end with this one.

I am a self-anointed nomad.

I am most happy when home is simply where I hang my hat for the moment. And sometimes that is a difficult thing to explain to people because it seems like the majority like the comfort of home … and the stability that comes with it. I find homes confining. I find settling constricting. I find comfort in roaming. I find the unknown freeing.

With that said … roaming and leaving places always reminds me of this Tolkien stanza:

=============

“The Road goes ever on and on

Down from the door where it began.

Now far ahead the Road has gone,

And I must follow, if I can,

Pursuing it with eager feet,

Until it joins some larger way

Where many paths and errands meet.

And whither then? I cannot say.

Still round the corner there may wait,

A new road or a secret gate.”

—

Elvish verse

===============

To me <and I know I am in the minority on this> Life is all about “still around the corner there may wait a new road or a secret gate.” I thrive in the fact that we don’t really know how each day will unfold. The fact that every day something will happen. And every day somethings we expect and somethings we don’t will happen.

And, to me, that’s what makes Life interesting. What you cannot see around the corner.

That new road. Or that secret gate. The unknown.

To me each step in life is driven on by curiosity and the joy of discovery. And then not settling with that discovery but rather pocketing it as a new experience and immediately stepping back out on the road seeking the next gate, door or errand …. ‘pursuing it with eager feet’ as it may be.

Look.

I don’t lie to myself and believe everyone feels this way. In fact … I am fairly sure not everyone does. But I do talk about it as often as I can. Because everyone should at least try it once in a while.

Ok.

That’s it.

These are just some of my favorite quotable moments but all his books are chockfull of thoughtful literary moments.

I will end where I began. Tolkien taught me there were thoughts behind thoughts & words behind words.

Books are not just meant to be read but savored thought by thought.

Read Tolkien.

Read any literature.

Whatever.

What I know for sure is if you read, and you think about what you read, you can gain perspective on things in a way you maybe have never thought of them ever before.

This illustration on the right is from a site called secretvespers.com. He does some seriously cool illustrations.

That said. As soon as I saw this one I started smiling.

Whenever anyone has ever asked me ‘what is the one thing you want to do if you could only do one thing?’ … I have always answered with about 6 things.

I honestly want to do and be everywhere.

And it works for me.

Yeah.

Drives some people crazy.

Life is funny this way.

Some people need to have a focal point and aim for it. They want to be on top of the world and dammit they are going straight there.

Me?

My world is round so I am happy to aim for the top because that means I can be anywhere and be happy.

Hey. Whatever works for you is what I say.

I guess my point is that I am always amazed when someone can say one thing will make them happy. My gut tells me that most of us would be happy if we had one of a dozen things. Or two of the dozen. Or any combination of things in that dozen if we are fortunate to get more than one.

To me it insures I am never a creature of the commonplace.

I know. I know.

Some people’s DNA doesn’t work that way. They have to choose a star and aim for it. And, in general, the world & society & business encourages you to focus on one star and do your damndest to get to that star.

Not me.

To me the sky is full of stars and I am happy with any of them. Actually as many as I can catch if it be true.

Anyway.

I saw the truth in “being everywhere” in myself. And I am comfortable in this skin <albeit it isn’t the best career advice to give anyone>.

On a separate note.

I believe a lot of young people would like to answer this way when some old person says to them “where do you want to be in 10 years?”

Why do I say that?

I always remember my own dad bugging me about “what is it you want to do with your life?” and me <being the ever so mature kid … then tween .. then young adult … yeah … this discussion lasted that long> and going ballistic thinking it was the stupidest question I had ever heard even then.

“Authenticity will be the buzzword of the twenty-first century. And what is authentic? Anything that is not devised and structured to make a profit. Anything that is not controlled by corporations. Anything that exists for its own sake, that assumes its own shape. But of course nothing in the modern world is allowed to assume its own shape. The modern world is the corporate equivalent of a formal garden, where everything is planted and arranged for effect. Where nothing is untouched, where nothing is authentic.

“Where, then, will people turn for the rare and desirable experience of authenticity? They will turn to the past.

“The past is unarguably authentic. The past is a world that already existed before all the other shapers of the present day shaped today’s world. The past was here before they were. The past rose and fell before their intrusion and molding and selling. The past is real. It’s authentic. And this will make the past unbelievably attractive.

——-

Michael Crichton

======================

Well.

I am not a past guy and I believe “authentic” is one of those words that is currently being abused in a variety of definition-type ways, but, I would offer a reminder to everyone that if you want something authentic it is actually the past <I will expound on that in a minute>.

Let’s just say that it always surprises me a little when people start bitching about the other people who seem to be yearning for the past. While I am certainly not a past-yearner lets’ see what a past yearner sees:

Everything is uncertain in today’s world.

You have no idea who to trust.

There is a struggle to trust anything.

Facts seem to no longer be black & white

Truth now has an alternative version.

Common sense doesn’t seem common.

Opinions look much like facts & facts get confused with opinions.

Simple, or simplification, doesn’t seem that simple anymore.

Add in that all of those things are occurring in a world in which we are increasingly encouraging people to think of everything as “all or nothing.”

This all drives a lot of people to find any fucking semi-solid lily pad to stand on that they can find. And what seems solid, seems certain, and seems authentic … is the past.

Ok. That said. On to my ‘expounding’ comment.

No. We may not remember the past well or correctly. In fact <research> we typically do not remember it correctly <choosing to remember the things we like & discarding the things we don’t want to remember>. Yet, in our minds, how we do remember it is as certain as anything can be in this world.

And, yeah, aspects of this can be skewed into a generational/age thing if you wanted. In a world of increasing uncertainty the young, who have less to hold on to with ragged claws & look forward to ditching a lot of the existing shit so they can develop their own shit, leave the past behind <sometimes flippantly> .

In a world of increasing uncertainty the old … well … the old hang on with ragged claws to the only thing they know to be true, certain & authentic … the past.

But, suffice it to say, how we view the past goes beyond age <although age can exacerbate the issue>.

I any extreme case, it is important to note, a person might not know he is doing something he shouldn’t do.

There is seeing and … well … seeing. And there is a vast difference between the two.

Frederick Franck in “Zen Seeing/Zen Drawing” argues:

“The glaring contrast between seeing and looking-at the world around us is immense; it is fateful. Everything in our society seems to conspire against our inborn human gift of seeing. We have become addicted to merely looking-at things and beings. The more we regress from seeing to looking at the world — through the ever-more-perfected machinery of viewfinders, TV tubes, VCRs, microscopes, spectroscopes — the less we see. The less we see, the more numbed we become to the joy and the pain of being alive, and the further estranged we become from ourselves and all others.

Well.

That is a discouraging thought. He is basically suggesting that once we get on the slippery slope of ‘not seeing’ we very quickly enter, and stay, in this miserable abyss of blindness.

He may be right. But I would rather believe he is not. I would prefer to believe seeing, really seeing, is a discriminating decision made by you & not the world around you. I would like to believe if we chose we could see the past with open eyes, open mind, open heart … open to unapologetic attention.

This is about not really looking for something in particular just being ready and receptive to whatever happens around you and in front of you. And by not seeking anything in particular <because that inhibits true seeing> you end up, as someone wrote somewhere ‘… by your own eyes you will see, and there will be a conclusion.’

You don’t see based on your own ideas but rather you see based on … well … what you see.

Hey. I am not suggesting this is easy. I am simply suggesting that you can do it if you elect to. If it helps … we partially have evolution to blame on why I can say what I am saying to you:

…. evolution’s problem-solving left us modern humans with two kinds of attention: vigilance, which allows us to have a quick and life-saving fight-or-flight response to an immediate threat, be it a leaping lion or a deranged boss, and selective attention, which unconsciously curates the few stimuli to attend to amidst the flurry bombarding us, enabling us to block out everything except what we’re interested in ingesting. (Selective attention, of course, can mutate to dangerous degrees, producing such cultural atrocities as the filter bubble.)

Ah. The ‘filter bubble.’

the filter bubble — by definition, it’s populated by the things that most compel you to click. But it’s also a real problem: the set of things we’re likely to click on (sex, gossip, things that are highly personally relevant) isn’t the same as the set of things we need to know. – Eli Pariser

Evolution and Life experience has created this filter bubble for each of us. And, by the way, each of our filter bubbles are different <because our Life experiences have been different in creating it>.

This filter bubble idea also suggests that you can manage, if not actually change your filter bubble.

Yup. You can change the way you see things.

==============

“To learn to see- to accustom the eye to calmness, to patience, and to allow things to come up to it; to defer judgment, and to acquire the habit of approaching and grasping an individual case from all sides. This is the first preparatory schooling of intellectuality. One must not respond immediately to a stimulus; one must acquire a command of the obstructing and isolating instincts.”

―

Friedrich Nietzsche

=============

I love that one thought … ‘allow things to come to it.’ Allow what you see to come to your eye … and ultimately your mind. Seeing is in the mind … not in the eyes. Mentally we need to stop focusing on a specific destination but rather watch during the journey.

All that said.

While the past may be authentic it may not be truthful <or a reflection of truth>. There are certainly some problems with the past ‘truth.’ We are really sure about how we remember the past “… to some extent he is saying all the correct things. But he is not correct.”

And maybe that is the most important is lesson that lies within.

We say all the correct things … but aren’t really correct. Context and perspective is needed to share “real & absolute truth” and Truth, with regard to the past, is the sum of accurate information … not just some of the accurate information.

Now.

More research.

Just to make everyone feel better … beyond evolution … there is a real reason we do this. It is called ‘adaptive ignorance.’ This is no excuse … and this ‘adaptive ignorance’ gets driven by an out of whack barometer of what is important <kind of> to us crazy people … but at least there is a psychological reason:

This adaptive ignorance is there for a reason — we celebrate it as “concentration” and welcome its way of easing our cognitive overload by allowing us to conserve our precious mental resources only for the stimuli of immediate and vital importance, and to dismiss or entirely miss all else.

Attention is an intentional, unapologetic discriminator. It asks what is relevant right now, and gears us up to notice only that. But while this might make us more efficient in our goal-oriented day-to-day, it also makes us inhabit a largely unlived — and unremembered — life, day in and day out.

Not only does Life make ‘seeing’ difficult … our minds do. Our minds adapt more and more <which ultimately constrains seeing> because of a couple of things:

productivity <just getting shit done or out of the way or solved>

the ways we learn to see the world

All this adaptation <or I imagine we can call it ‘coping’> creates something researchers call ‘search images.’ These are things all of us employ when we need to narrow our attention in a goal-oriented task. Unfortunately … this is only helpful or even possible if we know what to look for.

And that, my friends, is ultimately the point about seeing … and really seeing.

================

“… more is missed by not looking than not knowing.”

–

Thomas McCrae

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We don’t see because we don’t “look.” What a shame. Because by not looking … really looking … we miss seeing some really valuable things … like … what is authentic.

We all need truth goggles. Because we all want to hear what we all want to hear & see what we want to see & remember what we want to remember.

But all truth, even “the past,” takes a discerning mind.

Because … what happens when the past says all the correct things but is not correct? <you have a misguided view of what is true>

Truth takes work.

And that which appears authentic is often not what it appears to be. Just think about this whenever someone seems to be longing for the past. They are partially correct and partially not correct.